Gioachino Rossini - Il barbiere di Siviglia - "Don Basilio! Cosa vePS Do leave a comment on how you would compare the pieces :). Act Two of Rossini's "Il barbiere di Siviglia" features a most wonderful Quintet first as Don Basilio is sent away home by our trio of heros and the still dumbfounded Bartolo and then as the latter himself unravels the plan and sends Figaro and the Count flying out of his house. A justly famous piece, it progresses naturally as a scene, rather than a formal number of any kind; only the concentrated finales of the quintet (the famous "Buona sera! Buona sera!") and the subsequent quartet are what we would call classical ensembles. Just as the finale, the piece is difficult to write about as it is well-known, so let us just pass straight into it. Here is the cast: Figaro - Alan Opie, Il Conte Almaviva - Bruce Ford, Rosina - Della Jones, Dr. Bartolo - Andrew Shore, Don Basilio - Peter Rose. Enjoy :)!

Gioachino Rossini - Il barbiere di Siviglia - Ouverture (Marriner)It's time to pass onto the next group: the four masterpieces, "L'italiana in Algeri" (2nd, I decided to mix things up a bit, so the operas, while given in their correct chronological order, are going to be presented in the order given in these numbers), "Il turco in Italia" (3rd), "Il barbiere di Siviglia" (1st) and "La Cenerentola" (4th). These pieces, with the possible exception of "Il turco in Italia", are all almost too well-known (and justly so) to the public and so writing about them is especially difficult, in contrast to, for example, "Torvaldo" or, in fact, "La gazza ladra". But skipping them because of the familiarity would be a sin on the part of any serious admirer of opera who I aim to be. So I will gladly present my personal highlights from these pieces, again with my own short thoughts on the music itself, as usual :). We start with a work as much known for its' spectacular fiasco premiere as for its' undying popularity after that memorable first performance, a piece that is considered by many the epitome of opera buffa, "Il barbiere di Siviglia". Even when operas of the belcanto period were rarely performed, its frequent presence on operatic stages of the world was unabated, and we are talking seriously about a period when belcanto literally died out under the pressure of verismo. The fact is that the work is excellent, from the first page to the last, from the quiet introduction to the happy finaletto. Even repeated hearings (I would have to say too many ...

Gioachino Rossini - Tancredi - "Di tanti palpiti" (Ewa Podles, VesNot one compilation of Rossini's musical output would be complete without his first "hit tune": "Di tanti palpiti", the moderato section (a cabaletta of sorts) from the cavatina of Tancredi. In his biography of the Maestro, Stendhal wrote that the aria of Tancredi, known throughout Europe, was the most popular opera aria of its time... And also refered to as the "rice aria" because Rossini is supposed to have composed it while waiting for his risotto to cook one day in Venice (imagine: a hungry composer composing such a little masterpiece out of boredom :) )! The cavatina deals with Tancredi's return from exile Tancredi to defend his homeland against the Saracene besiegers (and to see Amenaide, of course). Although many recordings of the aria usually give us only the moderato, Tancredi's cavatina is actually a whole scene: an interlude (depicting Tancredi's boat dropping anchor in a port) - an impassioned recitative - a short (and rather boring) aria - a "cabaletta". It's also interesting to point out that the aria is quite "unrossinian" in character, it almost seems to come from another musical period: the moderato section could be attributed to any composer from the end of the 18th century. I decided to post only the "Di tanti palpiti" section for a number of reasons, chief amongst them being the fact that it is really the best part of Tancredi's cavatina. It's almost a suprise when it appears after the rather uninspired cantabile. I once had about ten versions of this ...

Terrana Plays "The Barber of Seville" Frankfurt Music Fair 2010Mike Terrana playing along to Rossini's "Barber of Seville" live at the Frankfurt Music Fair Agora Stage 2010 This track is part of a project called SinFonica along with 10 other famous classical pieces is available for download on Mike's web site www.terrana.com

Gioachino Rossini - L'italiana in Algeri - Ouverture (Marriner)The year 1813 proved a productive one for Rossini, with several important works: "Il signor ", "Tancredi", "Aureliano in Palmira"... In between came an opera that nearly didn't happen. Carlo Coccia, who had accepted a commission to compose an opera for the Teatro San Benedetto in Venice, apparently ran into difficulty in completing his assignment. Rossini accepted the offer from the theater's impresario and wrote "L'italiana in Algeri" in less than a month. Given the tight schedule, the composer turned to a libretto already in existence, one by Angelo Anelli, already set by Luigi Mosca (Meyerbeer1's channel includes a version of the duet between Isabella and Taddeo by Mosca, do check it out). Although Rossini was likely familiar with Mosca's opera, significant additions and changes were made to the libretto. The 21-year-old composer elected to go for broke with the effects of his ensemble writing. The opera was premiered on May 22, 1813, to applause that, according to one critic, "thundered without pause". "L'italiana" was the first of several important Rossini comic operas to hold prominent roles for lower female voices, the third, to be precise. The protagonist is a determined Italian lady, sung by contralto, who travels to Algiers to search for her lover, Lindoro, kidnapped and held as a slave by Mustafa, the Bey of Algiers. Isabella's wit and charm prove too much for Mustafa and his retinue, and she is able to escape with Lindoro at the end, leaving the Bey fuming ...